Cant defrag C drive

[danimal]

Im running windows XP. My C drive has only 4% left on it and when I try to defrag it tells me I need 15%. Is it posible to transfer anything over to my D file? I have alot of room on that.

[Allan]

Sure, go ahead. Any except programs. Better yet, Go to System Properties - System Restore and disable system restore (NOTE: as soon as you do this all restore points will be deleted). That will free up a lot of space. Then you can back up your drive using disc imaging software. After you do what you want, you can re-enable system restore if you so choose.

Also check your temp folder, clear the Temporary Internet Files Folder, and make sure the recycle bin is empty.

[dahlarbear]

1.  Disk Management.  Use Windows "Disk Management" utility to view the properties, partitions, and free space (or unallocated space) of the disk.

To access:  Start -> Run -> type "diskmgmt.msc" without quote, press <Enter>.

     a.  C: Drive
          (1)  What is the total capacity of the "C:" drive?
          (2)  If your "paging file" is allocated to the C: drive, what is its current size?  What do you want its maximum size to be?
          (3)  If you have "System Restore" monitoring the C: drive, what percentage of the disk is it allowed to consume?
          (4)  How much space is consumed by "C:\Documents and Settings" or its subdirectories.

     b.  D: Drive
          (1)  What is the total capacity of the "D:" drive?
          (2)  How much free space is available on the drive (percentage or GBs).
          (3)  Is this a restore/recovery partition or setup for "data" storage?

2.  Yes, it's possible to transfer "stuff" to the "D:" drive; but let's find out what you're working with first.

[Allan]

          (4)  How much space is consumed by "C:\Documents and Settings" or its subdirectories.

What difference would this make? Users should NOT try to relocate the Documents and Settings folder.

[dahlarbear]

Some of the subfolders may be moved "off" the system/boot drive.  If it's necessary to "wipe" and reinstall the operating system at a later date, you won't lose that data (depending upon user skill and install CD used).

As you probably know, "Tweak UI 2.1" may be used for this (My Computer -> Special Folders).

[Allan]

Well yes, you're correct that a couple of sub folders can be moved (ie, my documents). But unless there are a lot of music or video files that generally won't free up much disk space. BTW, it's very easy to move those folders without a 3rd party utility (just right click & move ).

[Aztec]

What is on D:? If it's the recovery partition, then it's best to leave that alone and not move any files there. Better to back up to an external medium such as DVD or USB HDD.

Run a disk cleanup to get some drive space back. Right click the drive in My Computer >  Properties > Disk cleanup. Delete the temp files, temporary internet files and clear the recycle bin, but don't compress files.

You can also try third party defrag utilities (not free, mind you) that defrag in very low space. The one I use (Diskeeper 2010) works perfectly in as low as 3-4 % free space in auto defrag mode. It also defrags system files so you can do a boot-time defrag and then leave it on auto defrag so that an otherwise potentially fragmented MFT and/or Page file does not interefere with normal defrag. You can grab the 30-45 day free trial versiosn from their site for your purpose since they work just like the full versions do.

[patio]

DisKeeper Lite is still available FREE...only component crippled is the scheduler...
It can be found at majorgeeks...